Syria says Aleppo operation against SDF aims to prevent activities ‘threatening regional security’

The Syrian government said Saturday that its security operation in parts of Aleppo against the terrorist organization YPG/SDF was "a limited law-enforcement measure" aimed at "preventing the use of Syrian territory for activities that threaten regional security."

A Foreign Ministry statement said the government conducted "a narrowly defined operation" in the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighborhoods to restore public order and protect civilians following repeated "violations" of security arrangements previously agreed with the SDF.

The ministry said security agreements reached in April 2025 were intended to end all non-state military activity in the two neighborhoods, but later collapsed due to repeated breaches by the SDF.

Damascus stressed that "the intervention was not a military campaign, did not involve demographic change, or target any group on ethnic or religious grounds."

The measures "were directed solely at armed groups operating outside agreed security frameworks," the ministry said, accusing those groups of serious violations, including the recruitment of minors.